Post rut bull Moose, if nothing else, are predictable. At least in my limited experience hunting them. When they like a particular area they tend to be there year after year. If not today then tomorrow. I’m not sure if you could pattern them per say, but you will find them close if you look. Like most other big game animals, make sure it is early or late and despite their size use your binoculars.

In Southern Alberta our opportunity to hunt them is limited. If you start applying for a tag when your new bouncing baby boy is born, he may leave home before you draw a tag and for darn sure will taking calculus prepping himself for University. But friends and family draw tags and they roam in whitetail country and partner licenses are available, so you can tag along hunting them more than every other decade if you wish.

On year 16 my wife drew a tag in 2014. While not the passionate hunter I might be considered, she does hunt, enjoys the time outdoors, and is keen on fresh meat in the freezer. As a consequence, I do the hunting prep work with permissions, sharpening knives, selecting gear, picking rifles and appropriate bullets etc. You know the tedious stuff that make most outsiders yawn at the thought of such mundane activities (kinda like shopping for golf pants I guess). She also prefers nicer weather than not but won’t complain either way.

So with weather in mind, we figured opening day was as good as any and then set out to procure grandparents to watch the three offspring. Given our tendency to have a date night once or twice a year whether needed or not over the last 16 years of marriage (we’ve gone from poor, to not as poor and busy) we figured to make it not only a Moose hunt, but also a date. Effectively killing two grouse with one stone as they say. If we weren’t successful on opening day, parts or all of the crew in turn would accompany us throughout the season.

The forecast for the opener was perfect for warm toes and ears, which pleased my spouse beyond words. Nonetheless, late fall mornings in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains are always cool and we miraculously seemed to be sidestepping the wind. Always hard to do this time of year in Southern Alberta. But forecasts are not always right so only the morning would give an honest picture of what the day would really bring.

There was a bit of tension in the air as we made the long hike with packs on our backs. It was cool and calm and the silence made things a bit tense for the walk in. There had been enough Grizzly incidents in the area in the past couple of weeks to make the imagination run wild as we silently moved along in the darkness. I warned my wife that often I have bumped whitetails as I moved along these trails in the dark so not to be too alarmed if we heard something along the way.

Skirting the Moose inhabited bog to the North and then East was the initial plan of attack. If nothing was spotted in some likely spots we would make are way to higher ground to the South and look into willow-choked swamp for any lingering or bedded bulls that could not be seen from ground level. It is a great way to see Moose but getting onto them once located is a different matter altogether.
Legal light was approaching fast as I noticed, through my binoculars, that a half a dozen small bulls were feeding along the aspens directly East of us. I could only imagine black bodies as I saw their white-panned antlers bobbing up and down in the pre dawn shadows. It was tough to remain quiet as we sloshed through the marshy ground that surrounded the large bog. It was wetter this year than it had been in recent past, and it forced us to slow our pace to try and remain audibly undetected.

To avoid bumping something in the blackness, I was careful to only proceed after I had thoroughly scanned ahead with the aid of binoculars. Finally it opened up to the South and I could see into country I had seen good bulls in before. Legal shooting light was fast approaching when I spotted a Moose that looked like a promising prospect. He knew something was up and was looking our direction. We slowly hunkered down and I started to retrieve my spotting scope for a closer look.

Face on it was tough to tell what kind of a bull we were looking at. As the light continued to improve things became clearer as they always do. Then through my binoculars I could see him turn his head and quickly shifted to the spotting scope. That view showed a great front end and good pans for the area we were hunting in. I said, “I think this is our bull” and my wife, more concerned with roasts for the crock pot readily agreed and with legal light well upon us she figured we ought to do something about it.

The report of the 338 Winchester Magnum broke that tense surprise a Grizzly Bear silence. I immediately saw the bull react through my optics and almost as quickly the audible dull whomp of the 225 grain Barnes TSX hitting chest confirmed what I had seen. He lunged forward, then stopped and proceeded to do the four legged moon walk ending in a backwards somersault onto his ears. It was over before a second shot could be fired. “He went down quickly for a Moose” I blurted!

Convinced he was not getting up, we gathered our things. For some reason this is the point in the hunt that I tend to leave pieces of gear in the grass. So I carefully made sure I had everything while my hunting companion kept an eye on her steaks. He was indeed planted where he fell and we spent a minute or two looking at what I knew was going to be a bunch of work. With that in mind I quickly called family to let them know of our success and that a horse or two might be handy if they showed up in a couple of hours.

We wrestled him into position to get a few pictures and then the work started. Everything came off the topside and then he was rolled over for the same treatment on the other. It was warm enough that I was in my shirtsleeves before long and I was glad I brought lots of liquid. Gatorade or water is worth its weight in gold in my opinion! My razor sharp Gene Ingram Yellow Jacket and CRKT Krommer 2 Shot did their job and are still sharp enough to take apart a Whitetail if I’m lucky enough to find one. Good sharp knives are always a nice companion.

Horses arrived shortly after our work was done and a couple of trips had the bull to the vehicle. The season seemed awful short in retrospect, but I have never had a better time. My beautiful wife and best friend makes a fantastic hunting companion and we both agreed that it was one of the best days we have spent out of doors. A repeat date is tentatively penciled in for October 2030.

Nice moose

good job! I love a moose hunt.

Great looking bull and great report. Congratulations.

Nice bull Chuck, awesome story that you penned too.
I wish my mama would come out hunting with me...your a lucky man!

Nice bull and story Chuck. Looks like a great hunt.

Beautiful lady, serious bull! Well done.

Excellent hunt report. It is a great thing to have a wife that will join us in what is really our passion.

wow what a moose...love the symmetry up front

Nice lady with a very nice bull. Big congrats to you both. I have fond memories of Sadie and I shooting several moose together when we lived in Alaska. Those kind of hunts and the following work tend to define the type of relationship a couple might have.

Mark

Great in every way. Thanks for posting.

Ted

Very nice bull!

quote:

For some reason this is the point in the hunt that I tend to leave pieces of gear in the grass.

And I thought I was the only one that did that.

Great report,,your wife did good! Nice guideing job.

simply outstanding

way to go.

left handed rifles are better for sure Chuck.

Phil

Ripper report an photos.

WL

Very nice report Chuck. Congrats to your wife.

Enjoyed the report and pics well done on a good Bull. Looks like she put a TSX thru the heart, a Waidmannsheil to her for that!